Tag: coffee

Books and coffee: the Pacific Northwest #2

After we went to Victoria, BC, we hopped the Washington State Ferry to travel to the San Juan Islands, specifically, Friday Harbor. We didn’t have a car, so the biggest town made the most sense. We spent another three relaxing days, one of which was even sunny!

This was not the sunny day, but probably was my favorite picture of the trip. It makes you understand why coffee and books are so popular in the Pacific Northwest.

Look, coffee and books are two of the things I really associate with Seattle. It has the most coffeeshops per capita in the US, and there are lots of bookstores and local authors. But we really didn’t do a lot of coffee and books.

This is the bookstore I wasn’t allowed to go inside because I basically already had a book per day for the trip. And look! They sold coffee!

I did read a lot on the trip though. In Friday Harbor, we went bike riding around the island on the beautiful day and to the Whale Museum on the day that was gross and rainy.

One of the beaches we visited on the lovely day.

I got A LOT of reading done on the trip and we ate VERY well. Overall, it was lovely and relaxing.

Books as comfort food

Here’s the book about relationships I’ve been craving, and it’s an old one. Published in 1993 (and one I’ve read and re-read and moved across the country more than once), it’s practically comfort food at this point. The Mystery Roast is about the family we make for ourselves, not just the family we have.

There’s Timothy and Eric (friends), Eric and Inca (romantic-ish), Timothy and Andre (definitely romantic), Lydia and Marec (romantic-ish), Lydia and Jason (complicated), and Eric and Lydia (familial). Relationships and family.

There’s also something about polar bears. We can’t forget the polar bears.

It revolves around a coffeeshop in still slightly sketchy New York City, pre Sex and the City. Andre owns the coffeeshop; Inca, Eric, and Timothy all have apartments in the building. Lydia is Eric’s mother, and it’s wonderful that she gets her own romantic storyline. It’s not something I find much, but maybe I’m reading the wrong stories.

There is a bit of plot to mention about Eric stealing an ancient statue at the beginning of the book, and it sets the plot in motion. But it’s not like he’s a thief, not a professional one anyway. It does turn into a bit of a meditation about desire and when it’s good and when it’s bad.

Basically, I just love The Mystery Roast. It makes me happy, and I’d recommend it to anyone.